Interactive Rewards System for Rewarding Drivers

ABSTRACT

Methods, computer-readable media, software, and apparatuses are disclosed for an interactive rewards system for engaging and rewarding drivers. In one aspect, a system comprising a first computing associated with a driver and a second computing device is disclosed, where the second computing device is configured to receive, from the first computing device, driving score information for the driver, assign at least one lottery ticket to the driver based on the driving score information, and send, to the first computing device, a notification indicating that the at least one lottery ticket has been assigned to the driver. In another aspect, the second computing device may be configured to assign, to a driver, a card for a virtual card game. The particular card assigned may be based on the driver&#39;s driving behavior.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation to U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/436,361, filed Jun. 10, 2019 and entitled “Interactive Rewards Systemfor Rewarding Drivers”, which is a continuation of and claims priorityto U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/510,183, filed Oct. 9, 2014 andentitled “Interactive Rewards System for Rewarding Drivers.” Each ofthese applications is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.

FIELD OF ART

Aspects of the disclosure generally relate to methods and computersystems, including one or more computers particularly configured and/orexecuting computer software. In particular, this disclosure relates toproviding an interactive rewards system, such as a lottery system, forengaging and rewarding drivers.

BACKGROUND

Insurance companies may employ telematics devices installed in vehiclesto monitor and analyze driving performance of individuals insured by theinsurance companies and other risk-related factors. Based on the datacollected by such devices, insurance companies may evaluate the drivingbehavior of individuals to assess their risk and determine anappropriate insurance cost and premium. In this way, insurance companiesmay additionally provide benefits to drivers that engage in safe (e.g.,positive) driving behaviors. In some conventional approaches, insurancecompanies may provide benefits based on mileage. The theory behind thisapproach assumes that when a driver drives less, the driver is lesslikely to be involved in an accident and thus represents a lower risk.Accordingly, insurance companies may seek to encourage drivers not todrive in conventional practice. As an example, insurance companies mayprovide benefits based on mileage awarding the most benefits to driversthat drive least.

In other examples, insurance companies may provide benefits foradditional safe driving behaviors based on speed, acceleration, braking,steering, and turn signals. For example, drivers may be rewarded forstaying within posted speed limits and not often engaging in suddenbraking or sharp turning events. Insurance companies may provide lowerinsurance premiums or discounts to drivers exhibiting good drivingbehaviors. While this may have helped some insurance companies to rewardcustomers, further methods, devices, software, and systems forattracting, retaining, and rewarding customers are still in demand.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In light of the foregoing background, the following presents asimplified summary of the present disclosure in order to provide a basicunderstanding of some aspects of the invention. This summary is not anextensive overview of the invention. It is not intended to identify keyor critical elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of theinvention. The following summary merely presents some concepts of theinvention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detaileddescription provided below.

Aspects of the disclosure address one or more of the issues mentionedabove by disclosing methods, computer readable storage media, software,systems, and apparatuses for providing an interactive rewards system forengaging and rewarding drivers. The disclosure describes a systemcomprising a first computing device associated with a driver and asecond computing device is disclosed, where the second computing deviceis configured to receive, from the first computing device, driving scoreinformation for the driver, assign at least one lottery ticket to thedriver based on the driving score information, and send, to the firstcomputing device, a notification indicating that the at least onelottery ticket has been assigned to the driver.

In another embodiment, the system may comprise a first computing deviceassociated with a driver, wherein the first computing device isconfigured to access driving score information for the driver, assign atleast one lottery ticket to the driver, and send a notification to aback-end rewards system indicating that the at least one lottery tickethas been assigned to the driver. The first computing device may beconfigured to determine if the driver has won a lottery based on the atleast one lottery ticket, and the first computing device may notify theback-end rewards system that the driver has won the lottery and to senda reward to the driver for winning the lottery. The back-end rewardssystem may record the winning and keep a record or reminder to send thereward to the driver for winning the lottery.

The disclosure also describes an apparatus comprising a networkinterface configured to communicate, via a network, with at least onecomputing device, and at least one processor. The processor(s) may beconfigured to cause the apparatus to receive driving score informationfor a driver, assign at least one game piece to the driver based on thedriving score information, and send, to the at least one computingdevice, a notification indicating that the at least one game piece hasbeen assigned to the driver.

In addition, aspects of this disclosure provide a method that mayinclude receiving, by at least one computing device, driving scoreinformation for a driver calculated based on a plurality of drivingfactors associated with the driver, assigning at least one lotteryticket to the driver based on the driving score information, andsending, to the at least one computing device, a notification indicatingthat the at least one lottery ticket has been assigned to the driver.

Of course, the methods and systems of the above-referenced embodimentsmay also include other additional elements, steps, computer-executableinstructions or computer-readable data structures. In this regard, otherembodiments are disclosed and claimed herein as well. The details ofthese and other embodiments of the present invention are set forth inthe accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features andadvantages of the invention will be apparent from the description,drawings, and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and is notlimited by, the accompanying figures in which like reference numeralsindicate similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example computing device that may beused according to an illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example network environment in which a system inaccordance with the present disclosure may be implemented.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a user interface inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method in accordancewith aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram of another example method inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In accordance with various aspects of the disclosure, methods,computer-readable media, software, and apparatuses are disclosed thatprovide, an interactive rewards system, such as a lottery system, forreceiving driving scores for drivers (e.g., insurance policy holders),determining rewards, assigning lottery tickets and/or game pieces (e.g.,playing cards) to drivers, providing games, notifying drivers of winninglottery tickets, and/or redeeming prizes. The interactive rewards systemmay be integrated across a plurality of platforms. For example, theinteractive rewards system may receive driving score informationcomprising overall driving scores for a driver. The overall drivingscores may be calculated from component scores for each of a pluralityof driving factors associated with the driver. The plurality of drivingfactors may comprise speed, braking, steering, turn signals, milesdriven, amount of time driven at night, amount of time driven duringdaytime, etc. The component scores and the overall driving scores may becalculated on a daily, weekly, monthly, or any other periodic basis. Inan embodiment, the interactive rewards system may incorporate orinterface with a vehicle telematics system so that driving scoreinformation representing driving behavior may be collected, calculated,and evaluated. In another embodiment, driving score information may becollected and stored in a database, wherein the database is accessibleto the interactive rewards system.

An aspect of the interactive rewards system may include rewardingdrivers by assigning one or more lottery tickets to drivers based on thedriving score information. The interactive rewards system may identifycomponent score values and overall driving score values and determine anumber of lottery tickets to assign to drivers based on the identifiedvalues. For example, a predetermined number of lottery tickets may beassigned to the driver if he or she has obtained a driving score valueor component score value that is within one or more predetermined scoreranges. In an embodiment, if the driver receives a driving score valuethat is within the score range of 80-89, wherein 100 may be the maximumdriving score value, then he or she may be assigned one lottery ticket.In another embodiment, if the driver receives a driving score within thescore range of 90-94, then he or she may be assigned two lotterytickets. In another embodiment, if the driver receives a driving scorevalue that is within the score range of 95-100, then he or she may beassigned three lottery tickets. In yet another embodiment, the number oflottery tickets assigned may be the same for all drivers with a drivingscore value above a predetermined score level.

Furthermore, the interactive rewards system may also assign driverslottery tickets based on individual driving scores and team drivingscores. For example, drivers may receive lottery tickets for achievingcertain driving goals (e.g., top driving scores) over certain periods oftime (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly). Drivers may also compete against orwith other drivers in a team. For example, a driver in a team may winlottery tickets or prizes by beating driving scores of other drivers inthe team. Drivers in the team may also work together to compete againstother teams in a city, county, state, or country to win lottery ticketsor prizes.

The interactive rewards system may also include a gaming system thatallows drivers to play games online to earn lottery tickets and/or winother prizes. The gaming system may provide user interfaces for driversto play a variety of games in competitions against peer drivers orfriends. For example, drivers may play card games (e.g., poker) andvideo games, such as virtual football, virtual chess, virtualfirst-person shooter games, and virtual role-playing games. In anembodiment, the driver may receive one or more lottery tickets for eachgame he or she wins. Thus, it may be advantageous for a driver toparticipate in multiple games online to win more lottery tickets andincrease his or her chances of winning the prize in a drawing.Furthermore, the features of a game may be improved for the driverdepending on his or her overall driving score values and component scorevalues. In an embodiment, the gaming system may determine a game piece(e.g., playing card) to assign to a driver based on the component scorevalues and overall driving score values. A playing card may be anexample of a game piece. It should be understood that other games may beplayed with other game pieces. For example, the gaming system maydetermine a card value and card suit for each playing card assigned tothe driver in a poker game or another card game based on the componentscore values and overall driving score values. Once the game piece(e.g., card value and card suit) has been determined, a game piece(e.g., a playing card) may be assigned to the driver, and the driver maybe notified by the gaming system of the acquired game piece (e.g.,playing card).

In another embodiment, where the game is a virtual sports-related game(e.g., a football video game, soccer video game, etc.), a driver'sscores may improve the skill level (or ability) of the players or unlockother players. Also, in the virtual sports-related game, a user mayacquire lottery tickets or game pieces for scoring in the game ordefeating another team. Still, in another embodiment, where the game isa first-person shooter game, a driver's scores may provide the shooterwith additional weapons or health. Also, in the first-person shootergame, a user may acquire lottery tickets for completing certain levels.

Each lottery ticket may indicate an entry into a drawing for a prize,wherein each driver with a lottery ticket has a certain probability ofwinning the prize. In an embodiment, there may be a variety of prizes orrewards available to drivers. For example, prizes may include discountson insurance premiums, rebate checks, discounts or rebates on carservices, cash, gas credit cards, gift cards, concert tickets, sportstickets, free vacations, travel tickets, hotel vouchers, charitycontributions, and other rewards. In another embodiment, the drawing fora prize may occur on a daily, weekly, monthly, annual, or any otherperiodic basis. The more lottery tickets the driver receives prior tothe drawing, the more chances he or she has in winning the prize.Therefore, it may be beneficial for drivers to keep their driving scoresvalues within a certain range and/or above a certain value to maximizethe number of lottery tickets they receive.

The lottery system may notify each driver when he or she has beenassigned one or more lottery tickets. Additionally, the lottery systemmay select a winning lottery ticket associated with a driver and send aprize notification to the driver with the winning lottery ticket toindicate that he or she has won the prize in the drawing. The lotterysystem may incorporate or interface with other insurance systems such asa web portal through which drivers may view their insurance policies,access the lottery system, and redeem rewards. For example, a driver mayuse a web portal or another interface to redeem a winning lottery ticketand claim a prize. In other embodiments, the driver may be notified of awinning lottery ticket through a mobile device, personal computer,telematics device, or television. The driver may have a predeterminedperiod of time in which he may need to confirm the winning lotteryticket and redeem the prize for the drawing.

In some embodiments, a lottery may be announced or unannounced, whereindrivers may be surprised with rewards or prizes in an unannouncedlottery. Moreover, drivers may be unaware of certain driving behaviorsand factors which contribute to winning an announced or unannouncedlottery. In an embodiment, the interactive rewards system may choose aspecific driving factor for which to monitor component scores andrandomly select a lottery winner out of the drivers with the highestscores for that specific driving factor. For example, the interactiverewards system may select to reward a driver out of the drivers with thehighest scores for night-time driving or for braking.

Additionally, a lottery may be based on teams of drivers (e.g., ateam-based lottery). For example, the lottery system may select one ormore winning lottery tickets associated with a team of drivers, whereineach driver in the team may win a prize. Drivers in the team may alsowork together to compete against other teams in a city, county, state,or country to win lottery tickets or prizes.

By implementing these features and more through announced andunannounced lotteries, insurance companies may be able to reward driverswho consistently demonstrate safe driving behaviors. Ultimately, thedisclosed interactive rewards system may incentivize drivers to keep upwith driving scores and engage in safe driving behaviors by providingdrivers with rewards and ways to win and participate through gamingand/or lotteries.

In an embodiment, a driver may be referred to as a user of theinteractive rewards system.

For example, the driver may use the lottery system to check drivingscores, receive lottery tickets, and redeem prizes. The driver may alsoplay various games provided by the gaming system in order to win lotterytickets and prizes. Thus, in another embodiment, a driver may bereferred to as a player within the gaming system.

In the following description of the various embodiments, reference ismade to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and inwhich is shown by way of illustration, various embodiments of thedisclosure that may be practiced. It is to be understood that otherembodiments may be utilized. A person of ordinary skill in the art afterreading the following disclosure will appreciate that the variousaspects described herein may be embodied as a method, a computer system,or a computer program product. Accordingly, those aspects may take theform of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely softwareembodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects.Furthermore, such aspects may take the form of a computer programproduct stored by one or more computer-readable storage media havingcomputer-readable program code, or instructions, embodied in or on thestorage media. Any suitable computer readable storage media may beutilized, including hard disks, CD-ROMs, optical storage devices,magnetic storage devices, and/or any combination thereof. In addition,various signals representing data or events as described herein may betransferred between a source and a destination in the form ofelectromagnetic waves traveling through signal-conducting media such asmetal wires, optical fibers, and/or wireless transmission media (e.g.,air and/or space).

In one or more arrangements, teachings of the present disclosure may beimplemented with a computing device. FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagramof an example computing device 100 that may be used according to anillustrative embodiment of the present disclosure. The computing device100 may be similar to any available computing device, such as a personalcomputer (e.g., a desktop computer), server, laptop computer, notebook,tablet, smartphone, etc. The computing device 100 may have a rewardsmanager 101 configured to perform methods and execute instructions asdescribed herein. The rewards manager 101 may be implemented with one ormore specially configured processors and one or more storage units(e.g., databases, RAM, ROM, and other computer-readable media), one ormore application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and/or otherhardware components. Throughout this disclosure, the rewards manager 101may refer to the software (e.g., a computer program or application)and/or hardware used to assign and manage lottery rewards. Specifically,the rewards manager 101 may be a part of an interactive rewards systemthat identifies driving score information, assigns lottery tickets, andmanages rewards based on driving score information and winning lotterytickets. The one or more specially configured processors of the rewardsmanager 101 may operate in addition to or in conjunction with anothergeneral processor 103 of the computing device 100. In some embodiments,the rewards manager 101 may be a software module executed by one or moregeneral processors 103. Both the rewards manager 101 and the processor103 may be capable of controlling operations of the computing device 100and its associated components, including RAM 105, ROM 107, aninput/output (I/O) module 109, a network interface 111, and memory 113.

The I/O module 109 may be configured to be connected to an input device115, such as a microphone, keypad, keyboard, touchscreen, gesture orother sensors, and/or stylus through which a user of the computingdevice 100 may provide input data. The I/O module 109 may also beconfigured to be connected to a display device 117, such as a monitor,television, touchscreen, etc., and may include a graphics card. Thedisplay device 117 and input device 115 are shown as separate elementsfrom the computing device 100, however, they may be within the samestructure. Using the input device 115, system administrators may updatevarious aspects of the interactive rewards system, such as rules foridentifying events that trigger the assignment of lottery tickets, rulesfor determining rewards, rules for managing games associated with thegaming system, and rules for notifying users (e.g., insurance policyholders, drivers) of assigned lottery tickets and rewards. On somecomputing devices 100, the input devices 115 may be operated by users(e.g., customers) to interact with the rewards system, includingproviding user information and/or preferences (e.g., preferences relatedto how and when to receive notifications), keeping track of drivingscores, monitoring lottery drawings, checking status of lotterydrawings/rewards, redeeming lottery tickets/rewards, etc., as describedherein. Meanwhile, the display device 117 may assist the systemadministrators and users to confirm/appreciate their inputs.

The memory 113 may be any computer readable medium for storing computerexecutable instructions (e.g., software). The instructions stored withinmemory 113 may enable the computing device 100 to perform variousfunctions. For example, memory 113 may store software used by thecomputing device 100, such as an operating system 119 and applicationprograms 121, and may include an associated database 123.

The network interface 111 allows the computing device 100 to connect toand communicate with a network 130. The network 130 may be any type ofnetwork, including a local area network (LAN) and/or a wide area network(WAN), such as the Internet. Through the network 130, the computingdevice 100 may communicate with one or more computing devices 140, suchas laptops, notebooks, smartphones, personal computers, servers, etc.The computing devices 140 may also be configured in the same manner ascomputing device 100. In some embodiments the computing device 100 maybe connected to the computing devices 140 to form a “cloud” computingenvironment.

The network interface 111 may connect to the network 130 viacommunication lines, such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, etc. orwirelessly using a cellular backhaul or a wireless standard, such asIEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.15, IEEE 802.16 etc. In some embodiments, thenetwork interface may include a modem. Further, the network interface111 may use various protocols, including TCP/IP, Ethernet, File TransferProtocol (FTP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), etc., to communicatewith other computing devices 140.

FIG. 1 is an example embodiment of a computing device 100. In otherembodiments, the computing device 100 may include fewer or moreelements. For example, the computing device 100 may use the generalprocessor(s) 103 to perform functions of the rewards manager 101, andthus, might not include a separate processor or hardware for the rewardsmanager 101. Additionally, or alternatively, the computing device 100may be a mobile device (e.g., a smartphone, tablet, etc.), and thus, mayalso include various other components, such as a battery, speaker,and/or antennas (not shown). Also, the computing device 100 may be avehicle computing device (either installed by a vehicle manufacturer oras an aftermarket part) having vehicle compatible elements, such as aport for an on-board diagnostic connector or ports for other vehiclesensors (e.g., tire pressure sensors, engine temperature sensors, etc.).For example, the computing device 100 could be a vehicle's computer or adevice plugged into the vehicle's computer for use in vehicletelematics.

The methods and software for an interactive rewards system for rewardingdrivers as disclosed herein may be implemented on one or more computingdevices 100 used in various network environments. FIG. 2 illustrates anexample network environment 200 for implementing methods according tothe present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2, the network environment 200may include a network 201 configured to connect an interactive rewardssystem 202, computing device 205, vehicle 207, telematics device 208,mobile device 210, customer computing device 212, and television 214.Collectively, these computing devices may form at least a part of aninteractive rewards system, such as a lottery system and/or gamingsystem. Although only one of each of the components 205, 207, 208, 210,212, and 214 are shown in FIG. 2, it is understood that there may be anynumber of components 205, 207, 208, 210, 212, and 214 in the networkenvironment 200.

The network 201 may be any type of network, like the network 130described above, and use one or more communication protocols (e.g.,protocols for the Internet (IP), Bluetooth, cellular communications,satellite communications, etc.) to connect computing devices and serverswithin the network environment 200 so they may send and receivecommunications between each other. In particular, the network 201 mayinclude a cellular network and its components, such as cell towers.Accordingly, for example, a mobile device 210 (e.g., a smartphone) or acomputing device 205 of a person in vehicle 207 may communicate, via acellular backhaul of the network 201, with an interactive rewards system202 to report driving score information representing driving behaviorsof a driver of the vehicle 207. And, in the opposite direction, theinteractive rewards system 202 may communicate, via the cellularbackhaul of the network 201, with the mobile device 210 or computingdevice 205 to notify a user of the mobile device 210 or computing device205 of an assigned lottery ticket. In another embodiment, the mobiledevice 210 or computing device 205 may communicate back and forth withthe interactive rewards system 202 over the Internet, such as through aweb portal. As shown in FIG. 2, it should be understood that the mobiledevice 210 or computing device 205 may connect to the network 201 evenif it is removed from the vehicle 207.

The vehicle 207 may be, for example, the vehicle of a driver or customerof an insurance company or a vehicle covered by an insurance policy ofan insurance company. Although FIG. 2 illustrates only one vehicle 207,the interactive rewards system may be configured to communicate withmultiple vehicles 207 simultaneously, wherein the multiple vehicles 207may be associated with multiple drivers. The lottery system may receivedriving score information simultaneously, assign lottery tickets todifferent drivers simultaneously, and notify drivers of lotterytickets/rewards simultaneously. Also, although FIG. 2 depicts thevehicle 207 as a car, the vehicle 207 may be any type of vehicle,including a motorcycle, bicycle, scooter, drone (or other automateddevice), truck, bus, boat, plane, helicopter, etc.

The driver of the vehicle 207 may be associated with a computing device205. In an embodiment, the computing device 205 may be a mobile device,a tablet, laptop, personal computer, etc. For example, the computingdevice 205 may be the same as the mobile device 210 depicted in FIG. 2.The computing device 205 may belong to a driver or customer of aninsurance company who is enrolled in a service that allows the driver toparticipate in a lottery to obtain rewards based on his or her drivingbehavior. The computing device 205 may further comprise a rewardsmanager 216, a display 217, and sensors/modules 218.

The computing device 205 may be configured to execute the rewardsmanager 216 that presents a user interface (e.g., a graphical userinterface for a website, application, software program, etc.) on thedisplay 217. The display 217 may comprise a monitor, television,touchscreen, etc. The user interface of the rewards manager 216 mayallow drivers to monitor driving score information, receivenotifications of lottery tickets, play games to earn lottery tickets,and redeem lottery tickets for rewards/prizes as provided by theinteractive rewards system 202. The rewards manager 216 may be aself-sufficient program or may be a module of another program, such as aprogram used to collect and/or evaluate driving score informationrepresenting actions of a vehicle 207 and/or driving behavior of adriver of a vehicle 207. The rewards manager 216 may have access todrive data that is collected by the sensors 218 of the computing device.The sensors 218 may comprise various sensors and/or modules that detectdriving behaviors, environmental information, and/or other risk-relatedfactors of a driver of a vehicle 207. For example, the sensors 218 maycomprise an accelerometer, GPS, gyroscope, etc. In an embodiment, thesensors 218 may detect environmental information and/or otherrisk-related factors such as weather conditions, angle of the sun, roadconditions based on the weather, whether or not other passengers are inthe vehicle, and the like.

In an embodiment, the rewards manager 216 may be downloaded or otherwiseinstalled onto the computing device 205 using known methods. Differentdevices may install different versions of the rewards manager 216depending on their platform. For example, a computing device 205 (e.g.,a smartphone) running the iOS™ operating system may download a differentversion of the rewards manager 216 than a computing device 205 runningthe ANDROID™ operating system.

A driver may launch the rewards manager 216 by, for example, operatingbuttons or a touchscreen on the computing device 205. Additionally, oralternatively, the computing device 205 may be configured to execute aweb browser (e.g., an application for accessing and navigating theInternet) to access a web page providing an interface for the lotterysystem and/or gaming system. In some embodiments, the computing device205 may also be configured to collect driving score information. Forexample, the rewards manager 216 or another program installed on thecomputing device 205 may instruct the computing device 205 to collectdrive data using the sensors 218 (e.g., its accelerometer, GPS,gyroscope, etc.). Drive data may include vehicle telematics data or anyother data related to events occurring during a vehicle's trip (e.g., animpact to a part of the vehicle, a deployed airbag, etc.). Drive datamay also include location information, such as GPS coordinates,indicating the geographical location of the computing device 205, orweather conditions, or other risk-related factors. The rewards manager216 or another program installed on the computing device 205 maycalculate driving score information, including overall driving scoresand component scores from the collected drive data.

A driver associated with the computing device 205 may employ the rewardsmanager 216 to access his or her driving score information and calculateor estimate a rebate check the driver may earn. In an embodiment, adriver may estimate a rebate check he or she may receive from aninsurance company based on his or her driving behaviors. For example,the driver may use the rewards manager 216 to determine how his or herrebate may be increased by improving specific driving behaviors, such asby decreasing his or her night-time driving and reducing the number ofmiles driven daily. In an embodiment, a rebate check may be presented toa driver periodically (e.g., every month), wherein the rebate check maybe set at a certain amount at the beginning of the period (e.g.,beginning of the month). The amount of the rebate check may be reducedthroughout the month with respect to decreases in the driver's drivingscore, and the driver may be notified of the changes in the rebate checkby the rewards manager 216.

The rewards manager 216 may also provide a calculator tool in whichdrivers may predict or evaluate how different driving behaviors mayaffect driving scores, rebate checks, lottery tickets, and rewards. Inanother embodiment, a calculator tool may use a driver's analyzedbehavior to suggest ways to change driving behavior for maximum premiumreduction/safety improvement. The calculator tool may be implemented asa module within the same program used to implement the rewards manager216. In an embodiment, the driver may also calculate his or her drivingscore information and a predetermined number of lottery tickets he orshe may be assigned based on the driving score information entered intothe calculator tool provided by the rewards manager 216. For example,the calculator tool may show a breakdown of the driving scoreinformation (e.g., algorithms used to calculate overall driving scoresand component scores), wherein drivers may be informed of which drivingbehaviors they may need to work on in order to improve their drivingscores, check rebates, and/or the number of lottery tickets earned.

Additionally, FIG. 2 also illustrates a telematics device 208 connectedto the network 201. In an embodiment, the telematics device 208 may bereferred to as a vehicle computing device 208 that is associated withthe vehicle 207 and the mobile device 210.

In some embodiments, the mobile device 210 and vehicle computing device208 may communicate with one another (e.g., via Bluetooth). The mobiledevice 210 may be any mobile device (e.g., a smartphone, tablet, etc.)that is associated with a driver or passenger of the vehicle 207. Inparticular, the mobile device 210 may belong to a driver or a customerof an insurance company who is enrolled in a service that allows thedriver to obtain rewards based on his or her driving behavior. Themobile device 210 may be configured similarly to the computing device205 and may interface with the vehicle computing device 208.

The vehicle computing device 208 may be configured to execute a rewardsmanager that presents a user interface for a customer to provide inputsto and receive outputs from the interactive rewards system. The rewardsmanager may be downloaded or otherwise installed onto the vehiclecomputing device 208 using known methods. Once installed onto thevehicle computing device 208, a user may launch the rewards manager by,for example, operating buttons or a touchscreen on the dashboard of thevehicle 207. Additionally, or alternatively, the vehicle computingdevice 208 may be configured to execute a web browser to access a webpage providing an interface for the interactive rewards system.

In some embodiments, the vehicle computing device 208 may be a devicethat is plugged into the vehicle's 207 on-board diagnostic (OBD) system(e.g., plugged in through an OBD II connector) or otherwise installed inthe vehicle 207 in order to collect drive data using, e.g., itsaccelerometer, GPS, gyroscope, or any other sensor (either in the device208 or the vehicle 207). As mentioned above, this drive data may includevehicle telematics data or any other data related to events occurringduring a vehicle's trip (e.g., an impact to a part of the vehicle, adeployed airbag, or other event triggered by a sensor of the vehicle207). The vehicle 207 may have a GPS installed therein, and therefore,the vehicle computing device 208 may also collect GPS coordinates.

Further, the vehicle computing device 208 may be a system includingmultiple devices. For example, the vehicle computing device 208 mayinclude the vehicle's OBD system and other computers of the vehicle 207.The vehicle computing device 208 may be configured to interface with oneor more vehicle sensors (e.g., fuel gauge, tire pressure sensors, enginetemperature sensors, etc.). The vehicle computing device 208 may alsointerface with the mobile device 210 via a wired connection (e.g., USB,OBD II connector, etc.) or a wireless connection (e.g., Bluetooth). Insome embodiments, there might not be a vehicle computing device 208installed in the vehicle 207 that is configurable to interface with theinteractive rewards system, or the vehicle computing device 208 mightnot be able to communicate with the mobile device 210. Still, in somecases, the vehicle computing device 208 might be configured so that itonly communicates with the mobile device 210 within the same vehicle207.

In an embodiment, both a vehicle computing device 208 and a mobiledevice 210 (or a computing device 205) may be employed, whereas inanother embodiment, only one of these devices may be used with theinteractive rewards system to collect drive data. For example, a user(e.g., insurance policy holder) may choose whether she wishes to use hermobile phone to capture driving drive data or whether she wishes to havea device plugged into her vehicle 207 to collect drive data.

FIG. 2 also illustrates an example subsystem within the networkenvironment 200. That is the interactive rewards system 202 may comprisea rewards subsystem 203 and a plurality of databases 220. The rewardssubsystem 203 may include one or more application servers, computingdevices, and other equipment used by company (e.g., insurance company)personnel to implement the features described herein. For example, therewards subsystem 203 may include a lottery tickets module which mayinclude any computing device 100 configured to execute a rewardsmanagement program or module thereof (e.g., a computing device 100 withthe rewards manager 101). The lottery tickets module may be configuredto assign lottery tickets and randomly select a winning lottery ticketin a drawing for a reward. Further, the rewards subsystem 203 maycomprise a gaming system. The gaming system may include a plurality ofgaming modules, which may be configured to provide gaming interfaces tousers.

The rewards subsystem 203 may provide access and maintain recordsrelated to assigning lottery tickets, selecting lottery ticket winners,and redeeming rewards. For example, the rewards subsystem 203 mayreceive driving score information for one or more drivers from thecomputing device 205, vehicle computing device 207, and/or mobile device210. In an embodiment, driving score information may be transferred tothe rewards subsystem 203 over a cellular network (e.g., network 201).In another embodiment, the driving score information may be directlyuploaded to a machine in the rewards subsystem 203 by a wirelessconnection (e.g., Bluetooth) or by a wired connection (e.g., USB drive)between the machine and the computing device 205, vehicle computingdevice 207 or mobile device 210. After receiving the driving scoreinformation, the rewards subsystem 203 may then process and evaluate thedriving score information and assign one or more lottery tickets to theone or more drivers based on the driving score information.

In order to assign lottery tickets, the rewards subsystem 203 mayidentify overall driving scores and component scores based on aplurality of driving factors for each driver. The overall driving scoresmay be calculated from component scores for each of a plurality ofdriving factors associated with the driver. As previously mentioned, theplurality of driving factors may comprise speed, braking, steering, turnsignals, miles driven, amount of time driven at night, amount of timedriven during daytime, weather conditions, etc. The component scores andthe overall driving scores may be calculated and sent to the rewardssubsystem 203 on a daily, weekly, monthly, or any other periodic basis.Table 1 below summarizes an example of lottery ticket assignment basedon driving score information.

TABLE 1 Driving Score Ranges Lottery Tickets Assigned i. Score range95-100 i. 4 lottery tickets ii. Score range 90-94 ii. 3 lottery ticketsiii. Score range 85-89 iii. 2 lottery tickets iv. Score range 80-84 iv.1 lottery ticket

In an embodiment, a predetermined number of lottery tickets may beassigned to a driver by the rewards subsystem 203 if he or she hasobtained a driving score value or component score value that is withinone or more predetermined score ranges. For example, if the driverreceives a driving score value that is within the score range of 80-89,wherein 100 may be the maximum driving score value, then he or she maybe assigned one lottery ticket. If the driver receives a driving scorewithin the score range of 90-94, then he or she may be assigned twolottery tickets. If the driver receives a driving score value that iswithin the score range of 95-100, then he or she may be assigned threelottery tickets. In another embodiment, the number of lottery ticketsassigned by the rewards subsystem 203 may be the same for all driverswith a driving score value above a predetermined score level. In yetanother embodiment, the number of lottery tickets awarded mayexponentially increase as the driver's driving score increases. Inanother embodiment, more tickets may be assigned based on how well adriver does compared to other drivers (or any subset of drivers).

The rewards subsystem 203 may also assign a driver additional lotterytickets for improving his or her driving scores or beating a previouslyobtained insurance score. For example, a driver may typically achieveoverall driving scores within an 80-85 range, wherein the maximumdriving score is 100. If the driver beats his personal best drivingscore of 85 with a new high driving score of 88, then the rewardssubsystem 203 may assign an additional lottery ticket to the driver forbeating his previous driving score.

Moreover, lottery tickets may be assigned to drivers by the rewardssubsystem 203 based on reaching certain driving milestones or goals. Inan embodiment, a driver may earn at least one lottery ticket or a rewardif he or she achieves a top score for a predetermined number of times ina row. The top score may be a top daily score, a top weekly score, or atop monthly score, wherein the top score comprises at least one of anoverall driving score or component score. For example, a driver mayreceive at least one lottery ticket for beating a personal best drivingscore and achieving a top daily score for three days in a row. Inanother example, a driver may receive at least one lottery ticket forachieving a top weekly score four times in a row. In yet anotherexample, a driver may receive at least one lottery ticket for achievinga top monthly score five times in a row. If a driver achieves a topdaily score, a top weekly score, and a top monthly score all within thesame month, the driver may receive at least one lottery ticket or aprize for his or her driving accomplishment.

The rewards subsystem 203 may assign lottery tickets to drivers based onindividual driving scores, as well as based on team driving scores. Forexample, a driver may compete against or with a team of drivers, whereinthe drivers in the team may be selected by or assigned to the driver bythe rewards subsystem 203. The driver may select his or her friends tobe in his or her team of drivers with whom he or she may compete. In anembodiment, a team may comprise 5 drivers, 10, drivers, 15 drivers, 20drivers, or any other number of drivers. A driver may earn lotterytickets by obtaining the highest driving scores (e.g., top scores) withrespect to his or her team. The driver may also work with the team tocompete against other teams in a city, county, state, or country to winlottery tickets or prizes. For example, each team may be ranked based onteam average driving scores and put into percentile groups against otherteams around the city, county, state, or country. The rewards subsystem203 may notify a team if their team average driving score is among thetop scores in the city, county, state, or country (e.g., top 10 scores,top 100 scores, etc.). One or more teams may be selected to win prizesbased on their team average driving scores. In an embodiment, apotential prize may increase by value each week that over a certainpercentage (e.g., 80%) of the drivers in the team maintains overalldriving scores above a predetermined score level or within apredetermined score range. This feature may incentivize drivers in theteam to maintain safe driving behaviors and keep up with their drivingscores.

Additionally, the rewards subsystem 203 may include functionality thatmay be distributed among a plurality of computing devices. For example,the rewards subsystem 203 may comprise further subsystems, includingclient-side subsystems and server-side subsystems. The client-sidesubsystems may interface with the computing device 205, vehiclecomputing device 207, and/or mobile device 210, whereas the server-sidesubsystem may interface with application servers and computing deviceswhich handle a variety of tasks related to the access, assignment, andmanagement of lottery-based rewards. In another embodiment, the rewardssubsystem 203 may include a gaming system comprising additionalsubsystems and/or servers for each of a variety of games employed by therewards subsystem 203. The gaming system may allow drivers to play avariety of games online to earn lottery tickets (and/or game pieces) andwin other prizes in an announced lottery. The gaming system may provide,e.g., through a web portal, user interfaces (e.g., web pages) presentedon the display 217 of the computing device 205 in which the driver maycheck driving scores, calculate rebates/rewards, play games, and competeagainst peer drivers or friends. The variety of games may include cardgames, such as poker, and video games, such as virtual football, virtualchess, virtual first-person shooter games, and virtual role-playinggames (RPG).

Drivers may select a group of peer drivers or friends with whom to playa particular game. In an embodiment, the group may comprise 2 drivers, 5drivers, 10 drivers, 15 drivers, or any number of drivers. Within thegroup, drivers may compete against each other to win a lottery ticket ora prize. The competition may last any predetermined period of time, suchas a few days or a week long. For example, in a poker game, each drivermay have an opportunity to gather a hand of playing cards each day of aweek. At the end of the week, the driver with the highest ranking handof playing cards may win a lottery ticket or a prize for the week.Alternatively, when each player has at least a set amount of cards(e.g., two cards), the players may play a round of poker. Players thathave earned more playing cards may have a better chance of winning theround. In another embodiment, each driver in the poker game may bet anitem on his or her respective hand of playing cards, wherein the itemsbet include items provided to drivers in the poker game upon reaching acertain level of the game. For example, each driver with a pair ofplaying cards or a better hand may be given a $5 gas credit card or agift card. These drivers may then bet their gas credit cards or giftcards in the poker game, with the winner of the highest ranking hand ofplaying cards winning the gas credit cards or gift cards that were betby the other drivers. The winner of the highest ranking hand of playingcards may also win a lottery ticket or prize in addition to the bettedwinnings. Bets may be placed by drivers in the poker game at any time(e.g., before or after driving scores are determined).

In some embodiments, features of a game may be determined based on adriver's overall driving score values and component score values. Forexample, the gaming system may determine a card value and card suit foreach playing card assigned to the driver in a poker game or another cardgame (e.g., “UNO”, “go fish,” etc.) based on the component score valuesand overall driving score values. The card values and card suits may beimportant for ranking hands of playing cards and ultimately determiningthe winning hand in a poker game. In some embodiments, driving scorevalues and component score values may be grouped into four predeterminedscore ranges to correspond to four different card values. For example,100 may be the maximum driving score value, and the four predeterminedscore ranges, in order of weakest to strongest card values, may be80-84, 85-89, 90-94, and 95-100. Thus, in an embodiment, the driver mayneed to score above 80 to qualify for a playing card. If the driverscores below 80, then he or she might not receive a playing card. Inorder for drivers to receive new playing cards, the driving score valuesand component score values may be calculated on a daily basis todetermine which new playing cards, if any, may be assigned/awarded tothe drivers.

Additionally, driving scores and component scores may be divided intodifferent card suits. For example, card suits may include the following,in order of strongest to weakest card suits: overall driving score,braking score, turn signals score, night-time driving score, daytimedriving score, and other component scores. In an embodiment, the overalldriving score may be a weighted average of each of the component scoresand may be the strongest card suit. Various algorithms may be employedby the rewards manager 216 or another program installed on the computingdevice 205 to calculate the component scores and the overall drivingscores. In an embodiment, a playing card with a stronger card suit maywin over a playing card with a weaker card suit. For example, a playingcard with an overall driving score suit may win over a playing card witha daytime driving suit. Similarly, a playing card with a stronger cardvalue may win over a playing card with a weaker card value. For example,a playing card with a score range of 95-100 may win over a playing cardwith a score range of 80-84.

Table 2 below summarizes examples of different card values and cardsuits, listed from strongest to weakest, which may be utilized in apoker game. The values and suits may be adjusted based on their effecton driving safety. For example, if it is found that night-time drivingscores have a stronger impact on driving safety than turning scores,then that suit may become a stronger suit.

TABLE 2 Card Values Card Suits i. Score range 95-100 i. Overall drivingscore ii. Score range 90-94 ii. Braking score iii. Score range 85-89iii. Turning score iv. Score range 80-84 iv. Night-time driving score

Once the card value and card suit have been determined, the gamingsystem may assign a playing card to the driver, and the driver mayconstruct different hands of playing cards. In an embodiment, the pokergame may be played with a Texas Hold'em twist, wherein two cards (e.g.,hole cards) may be presented to each driver in the game. The two cardsmay be used to construct a hand of playing cards in the poker game. Inan embodiment, the driver may have an opportunity to gather a hand ofplaying cards each day of a week for a standard poker game or a pokergame with a Texas Hold'em twist. At the end of the week, the driver withthe highest hand of playing cards wins a lottery ticket or prize for theweek. In an embodiment, certain hands of playing cards may be stronger(e.g., rank higher) than other hands of playing cards. For example, thehighest ranking hand of playing cards may be a five-of-a-kind includingfive “overall driving score” cards each having a card value with a scorerange of 95-100. In another embodiment, a lower ranking hand of playingcards may be a pair of “night-time driving score” cards each having acard value with a score range of 80-84. Ultimately, the hand of playingcards with the strongest card values and/or strongest card suits may winthe card game. For example, a hand of four of a kind may beat a hand ofthree of a kind, whereas a hand of five of a kind may beat both hands.Other hands that are conventionally played in poker may also be played,such as a straight flush, full house, straight, and other hands

In some embodiments, a traditional poker game may be played withconventional card values and card suits. For example, conventional cardvalues may include Ace, King, Queen, Jack, ten, nine, eight, seven, six,five, four, three, two, and/or Joker, whereas conventional card suitsmay include hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades. In an embodiment, thegaming system may determine how many playing cards to give to a playerbased on driving score information. For example, 1 playing card may begiven for driving scores within an 80-84 range, 2 playing cards may begiven for driving scores within an 85-89 range, 3 playing cards may begiven for driving scores within a 90-94 range, and 4 playing cards maybe given for driving scores within a 95-100 range. The gaming system mayrandomly select a card suit (e.g., hearts, diamonds, clubs, spades) andrandomly select a card value (e.g., Ace, King, Queen, Jack, ten, nine,eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, Joker) for each card earnedby a driver. The gaming system may then assign the playing card with theselected suit and card value to the driver. After a certain period oftime (e.g., after a week or after each driver at the virtual poker tablehas obtained a set number of playing cards, such as two playing cardsfor Texas Hold'em), then the drivers may play a round of traditionalpoker with their playing cards.

In order to win a game, a driver may need a highest ranking hand ofplaying cards. In an embodiment, if none of the drivers participating inthe poker game are able to construct a hand of playing cards, then thedriver with the highest overall driving score may win the game. Inanother embodiment, if two or more drivers present the same hand ofplaying cards, the driver with the highest score within that hand maywin the game. Additionally or alternatively, drivers may collectdifferent game pieces or accumulate one type of game piece to win thegame. The gaming system may rank drivers on a scoreboard based on thenumber of times a driver has won the game. For example, drivers who havewon the most games may be ranked on top of the scoreboard, wherein thescoreboard may be included in the user interface of the poker game(e.g., shown on the display 217 of the computing device 205).

Still referring to FIG. 2, in some embodiments, each of the additionalsubsystems and/or servers employed by the gaming system in the rewardssubsystem 203 may store and maintain data associated with a specificgame (e.g., player information, points won, levels reached in the game,etc.). The additional subsystems and/or servers may send the dataassociated with each of the games to the rewards subsystem 203 in orderto assign corresponding lottery tickets to drivers.

The subsystems, application servers, and computing devices of therewards subsystem 203 may also have access to the plurality of databases220. In an embodiment, the plurality of databases 220 may beincorporated into the rewards subsystem 203 or may be separatecomponents in the rewards subsystem 203. As an example, the plurality ofdatabases 220 may comprise a lottery database, a game pieces database, aplaying cards database, a games database, and other rewards databases.Each database 220 may comprise information regarding the assignment oflottery tickets, insurance policy information, driving scores, rewards,and/or gaming information (e.g., assignment of cards) for each driverparticipating in the lottery. The data stored in the plurality ofdatabases 220 may be collected and compiled by the computing device 205,the vehicle computing device 207, the rewards subsystem 203, or byservers and subsystems within the rewards subsystem 203. The databases220 may also store various rules. For example, the games database 220may store rules for a card game.

Furthermore, the rewards subsystem 203 may also be employed to select adriver to win a prize in a lottery drawing. Each lottery ticket mayindicate an entry into a drawing for a prize, wherein each driver with alottery ticket may have a certain probability of winning the prize. Forexample, a driver with one lottery ticket may have a 1 in 20 chance (5%chance) of winning the prize. A winner of the drawing may be randomlyselected by the rewards subsystem 203, wherein the rewards subsystem 203may apply various algorithms to make the random selection. In anembodiment, the drawing might not need to be from among all drivers, butmay purely be based on probability (e.g., drawing by a random numbergenerator). Alternatively, for example, each lottery ticket may be givena 1 in 20 chance of being drawn for a prize. In an embodiment, there maybe a set of 20 in a drawing, wherein there may be 1 win and 19 lossesassigned in a random order. For example, a win in the set of 20 may beassigned as the fifth ticket in the set of 20. Thus, a driver may win onthe 5^(th) ticket that he earns but lose on the other 19 tickets that heearns. This 1 in 20 chance approach may be repeated for the next 20tickets and so forth. Therefore, in some embodiments, none, one, ormultiple tickets may win the prize based on this probability.

In an embodiment, there may be multiple prizes available in a lotterydrawing, wherein there may be multiple drivers selected randomly to winprizes in the lottery drawing. For example, the rewards subsystem 203may select multiple lottery tickets for multiple winners in a drawing,wherein each of the lottery tickets may be associated with a differentdriver. Each of the winners may receive the same prize or differentprizes. Moreover, there may be a variety of prizes or rewards awarded todrivers with winning lottery tickets. In an embodiment, prizes mayinclude discounts on insurance premiums, rebate checks, discounts orrebates on car services, cash, gas credit cards, gift cards, concerttickets, sports tickets, free vacations, travel tickets, hotel vouchers,charity contributions, and other rewards. In another embodiment, theremay be small (e.g., relatively low value) prizes for daily lotterydrawings, as well as large (e.g., relatively high value) prizes forweekly or monthly lottery drawings. For example, the small prizes forthe daily lottery drawings may include small gas credit cards, giftcards, and small discounts on insurance (e.g., $5-10 off insurancepremium for next renewal period), whereas the large prizes for theweekly or monthly lottery drawings may include gas credit cards and giftcards with larger values, concert tickets, sports tickets, discounts orrebates or car services, larger discounts on insurance (e.g., $100 offinsurance premium for next renewal period), free vacations, traveltickets, and hotel vouchers.

In an embodiment, the rewards subsystem 203 may randomly select awinning lottery ticket associated with a driver to win a prize in alottery drawing. The rewards subsystem 203 may notify the driver bysending a prize notification indicating that the winning lottery tickethas been selected for the driver to win the prize in the lotterydrawing. In an embodiment, the driver may be notified of winning lotterytickets by receiving the prize notification at one or more of thefollowing devices: computing device 205, mobile device 210, vehiclecomputing device 208, customer computing device 212, and television 214.For example, the driver may receive a prize notification through therewards manager 216 on the computing device 205 The prize notificationmay be presented on the display 217 and may comprise a message or anindication (e.g., text, images, video, animation, etc.) informing thedriver of his winning lottery ticket and the prize that the driver haswon.

In another embodiment, the driver may access the rewards subsystem 203and receive the prize notification through a web portal availablethrough the customer computing device 212 shown in FIG. 2. The customercomputing device 212 may be any computing device used by a customer of,for example, an insurance company to execute a web browser to access alottery rewards website. For example, the customer computing device 212may be a desktop computer, laptop, tablet, etc. that a customer uses toexecute a web browser or other application to sign up for a rewardsprogram, review rewards, indicate preferred forms of rewards, indicatewhen and how she wishes to be notified of rewards, redeem rewards,transfer rewards, and pool rewards. The customer computing device 212may be a driver's personal computer at home, and the driver may log on awebsite and check to see if he or she has won. The website may list oneor more winners for a plurality of lottery drawings in the rewardssubsystem 203. For example, the website may be a general website for theinsurance company, a website specific to the rewards subsystem 203, or asocial media website (e.g., FACEBOOK page). In yet another embodiment,the television 214 shown in FIG. 2 may be employed to notify drivers ofwinning lottery tickets. For example, the driver may watch thetelevision 214 to check to see if he or she has won the prize for thelottery drawing. The one or more winners for the lottery drawing may bedeclared on a program or commercial shown on the television 214. In someembodiments, the driver may be notified of a winning lottery ticket byemail, text messages (e.g., SMS, MIMS, etc.), push notifications, andphone calls on his or her mobile device (e.g., mobile device 210).

Once the winners have been disclosed by any of the aforementionedmethods, a driver with a winning lottery ticket may redeem his or herprize by accessing the rewards subsystem 203 through a web portal on thecomputing device 205, mobile device 210, vehicle computing device 208,or customer computing device 212. In an embodiment, the driver may use aweb portal or another interface to redeem the winning lottery ticket andclaim the prize. For example, the driver may log online to confirm thathe or she has the winning lottery ticket and to claim the prize. Inorder to confirm the winning lottery ticket, the driver may input his orher user information (e.g., username, password), enter in his or hercontact information (e.g., address, phone number, email address), and/orenter a passcode (which may have been provided to the driver with theprize notification) to receive the prize. The rewards subsystem 203 maysubsequently receive a message indicating that the driver has redeemedthe winning lottery ticket to claim the prize.

In an embodiment, the driver with the winning lottery ticket may have acertain period of time in which to redeem the winning lottery ticket andclaim the prize. For example, the driver may have a day, a week, amonth, or another predetermined period of time to confirm his winningticket. If the driver does not confirm his winning ticket and redeem theprize within the predetermined period of time, then the prize may beavailable for the next drawing. That is, the prize may be awarded as theprize for the next drawing or the prize may be added to the nextdrawing's prize (e.g., the prize may be rolled forward). For example, ifthe driver fails to claim and redeem his prize of a free vacation, thenthe rewards subsystem 203 may offer the same prize of the free vacationin the next drawing. In another example, if the driver fails to redeemhis prize for a discount of $100 off insurance premium in a monthlydrawing, then the prize in the next month's drawing may include theprevious month's discount, with the prize totaling up to a discount of$200 off insurance premium. In another embodiment, the rewards subsystem203 may reward an unredeemed prize to a second driver by randomlyselecting a second lottery ticket in the drawing. This second driver mayalso have a similar predetermined period of time in which to confirm hiswinning ticket and redeem the prize. In an embodiment, the lotterysystem may continue to select drivers randomly until a driver confirmsthe winning ticket and redeems the prize.

Additionally, there may be a plurality of ongoing lottery drawings inthe rewards subsystem 203, wherein the drawings may be for announced orunannounced lotteries. In an announced lottery, drivers may be aware ofthe lottery prize and the drawing date for the winning lottery ticket.Drivers may knowingly earn as many lottery tickets as they can toimprove their chances in winning the announced lottery. In anunannounced lottery, drivers may be unaware of the lottery and not knowof the drawing date for the winner of the lottery. Thus, drivers may besurprised with rewards or prizes in the unannounced lottery. Drivers mayalso be unaware of certain driving behaviors and unknown factors whichcontribute to winning the lottery (e.g., announced lottery orunannounced lottery). In an embodiment, the rewards subsystem 203 maychoose a specific driving factor for which to monitor component scoresand randomly select an unannounced lottery winner out of the driverswith the highest scores for that specific driving factor. For example,the lottery system may select to reward a driver out of the drivers withthe highest scores for night-time driving or for braking. In anembodiment, the unannounced lottery may be separate from the announcedlottery. Both unannounced and announced lotteries may encourage driversto drive safely. The announced lotteries may give people concrete goalswhile the unannounced lotteries provide surprise, delight, and even adesire to uncover all possible ways to win the unannounced lottery.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a user interface 300 inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The user interface300 depicts a poker game that may be managed by a gaming system withinthe rewards subsystem 203. In an embodiment, the user interface 300 maybe shown on the display 217 of the computing device 205, wherein thecomputing device 205 may be a mobile device (e.g., mobile device 210),tablet, laptop, or a personal computer (e.g., customer computing device212). The poker game illustrated in FIG. 3 shows a game occurringbetween four players or drivers (e.g., John, Jane, Mary, and the driverusing the computing device 205). Each of the players may be insurancepolicy holders participating in the interactive rewards system at aninsurance company. Alternatively, a subset of the players (e.g., asingle player) may be insurance policy holders (who have earned theircards through driving), while the remaining players might not beinsurance policy holders. In an embodiment, there may be any number ofplayers in a game managed by the gaming system. In FIG. 3, four playersmay be participating in the poker game, wherein the respective playingcards of each player viewing the interface may be visible just to thatrespective player. Although only four playing cards are shown for eachof the players, each player may have any number of playing cards.

In an embodiment, the card suits and the card values of the playingcards may be depicted in any manner, such as by text or by symbols thatrepresent the specific suits and values. For example, the card suitsshown previously in Table 1 may be depicted as conventional symbols usedin poker games (e.g., hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades). In anembodiment, hearts may represent a suit of overall driving scores,diamonds may represent a suit of braking scores, clubs may represent asuit of turn signals scores, and spades may represent a suit ofnight-time driving scores.

Additionally, the card values may be represented as single numbers tosimplify the poker game interface for players. In an embodiment, thecard value of 95 may represent the score range of 95-100, the card valueof 90 may represent the score range of 90-94, the card value of 85 mayrepresent the score range of 85-89, and the card value of 80 mayrepresent the score range of 80-84.

As depicted in FIG. 3, the cards shown in the center of the userinterface 300 may represent a winning hand of playing cards. In anembodiment, the winning hand of playing cards may be the highest rankinghand of five of a kind overall driving scores with a score range of95-100. In another embodiment, the winning hand of playing cards may beany number of playing cards with the highest ranking card suits and cardvalues in comparison to the playing cards of other players' hands. Theplayer with the winning hand may subsequently be assigned a prize or alottery ticket for an entry into at least one of a daily, weekly,monthly, annual, or periodic drawing for a prize.

The user interface 300 may also comprise one or more buttons 310,wherein a player may press a corresponding button 310 (e.g., by pressinga touch screen icon, moving a cursor, clicking a mouse, pressing a keyon a keyboard) to fold, deal, place a bet, or call a hand of playingcards. The user interface 300 may also convey to a player an amount oftickets or value of gift cards that the player has bet or won during thepoker game. For example, the user interface 300 shows that the playerhas won 5 lottery tickets and is currently betting a $15 gift card. Thenumber of lottery tickets or gift cards bet and/or won by the player maybe shown pictorially in the user interface 300 with an illustration oranimation representing the betted and/or won amount (e.g., a picture ofpoker chips on the display representing the lottery tickets or giftcards). Moreover, indications (e.g., text, images, videos, animations,etc.) may be shown on the user interface 300 to inform the player of awinning hand of playing cards, receiving a lottery ticket or prize, orlosing a game to another player. Alternatively, there might not need tobe any betting, but only the chance to win tickets. In anotherembodiment, there may only be betting, with no additional possiblewinnings.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method in accordancewith aspects of the present disclosure. In particular, FIG. 4illustrates example method steps for assigning at least one lotteryticket based on driving score information. The steps of FIG. 4 may beperformed by computing devices of the rewards subsystem 203. One or moreof the steps of FIG. 4 may be performed by executing a lottery rewardsprogram and/or operating a particularly configured computing device ofthe lottery rewards system. As a result of the method of FIG. 4, adriver at computing device 205, may be assigned at least one lotteryticket and notified of a winning lottery ticket.

The method of FIG. 4 may begin with a step 401 of signing-up for alottery rewards service. A driver or customer (e.g., an insurance policyholder) may use a computing device 205, vehicle computing device 208,mobile device 210, or customer computing device 212 to sign-up for aservice that allows that the driver or customer to receive rewards(e.g., lottery tickets). The sign-up process may be performed through aweb portal provided by a server or system (e.g., rewards subsystem 203)within the interactive rewards system 202. For example, a driver may usea web browser to navigate to a particular website (e.g., insurancecompany website) and sign up for a lottery rewards service. In someembodiments, the driver may be signed-up to receive lottery rewards aspart of creating a policy (e.g., an insurance policy) or as part ofsigning-up to receive non-reward goods or services. For example, thedriver might sign up for a service that collects drive data andevaluates the driver's driving behavior, and in doing so, the driver mayalso be automatically enrolled in a lottery rewards service so that theinteractive rewards system may allocate and maintain rewards for thedriver.

Signing-up at step 401 may include providing a username, password,policy number, etc.

to the rewards subsystem 203 and/or indicating a driver's acceptance oragreement to terms and conditions. In some embodiments, signing-up mayalso include providing driver information (e.g., name, birthdate,address, gender, etc.), vehicle information (e.g., make, model, year,vehicle identification number (VIN), etc.), and/or mobile device 210information (e.g., smartphone identifier, smartphone make and model,phone number, etc.). Further, in step 401, upon signing-up, the rewardssubsystem 203 may create and/or assign an account to the driver. In anembodiment, the rewards subsystem 203 may store account information inthe plurality of databases 220.

In step 402, a driver may set preferences. Preferences may be set invarious manners.

Initially, preferences may be set up through the web portal used to signup for the rewards service. For example, preferences may be set on awebsite dedicated for a driver (e.g., a driver account page on theinsurance company's website).

Preferences may be set using the computing device 205, vehicle computingdevice 208, mobile device 210, or customer computing device 212. Thesedevices may receive user inputs and transmit the inputs to the serverswithin the rewards subsystem 203, which may record the preferences inassociation with the driver (e.g., in association with a policyassociated with the driver). Some, or all, of the preferences may bestored locally on the driver's device (e.g., mobile device 210),remotely in one of the plurality of databases 220 or elsewhere in therewards subsystem 203. In some embodiments, user preferences set in step402 may be pulled from previously acquired information, such as frompreferences set up when an insurance policy is opened.

One example of a preference set at step 402 may include whether thedriver would like to participate in a driving behavior monitoringservice using his/her phone or a device plugged into (or otherwiseinstalled) in his/her vehicle 207. For example, the driver may choosebetween two options for collecting drive data — using a phone or deviceplugged into a vehicle 207. As another example of a preference, driversmay indicate that they wish to receive notifications of lottery ticketsand/or rewards immediately upon earning the lottery tickets and/orrewards, daily, weekly, monthly, etc. and may indicate that they wouldlike to receive notifications via email, text messages (e.g., SMS, MMS,etc.), push notifications, phone calls, etc. Another example of apreference may be designating the preferred type(s) of rewards thatdrivers would like the chance to earn.

In step 403, the interactive rewards system may be configured so thatlottery rewards may be determined and allocated for particular drivers,and notifications may be sent to particular drivers regarding theirrewards. Configuring at step 403 may include installing or plugging in avehicle computing device 208 in the vehicle 207 so that drive data canbe collected. Additionally, or alternatively, configuring may includedownloading and installing a rewards manager 215 on a computing device205 (e.g., smartphone) to be used to collect drive data. In anotherembodiment, configuring may include setting up a wireless connection(e.g., Bluetooth) or a wired connection (e.g., USB drive) between amachine in the rewards subsystem 203 and the computing device 210,vehicle computing device 207 or mobile device 210 to transfer drivingscore information to the rewards subsystem 203.

At step 404, the interactive rewards system (e.g., rewards subsystem203) may receive driving score information. Driving score informationmay be collected from the computing device 210, vehicle computing device207 or mobile device 210. The driving score information may compriseoverall driving scores for a driver that are calculated from componentscores for each of a plurality of driving factors associated with thedriver. The plurality of driving factors may comprise speed, braking,steering, turn signals, miles driven, amount of time driven at night,amount of time driven during daytime, etc.

After receiving the driving score information, at step 405, the lotterysystem (e.g., rewards subsystem 203) may determine if the driving scoreinformation triggers assignment of at least one lottery ticket. In otherwords, step 405 may include determining whether or not a driver hasearned at least one lottery ticket based on his or her driving scores.In some embodiments, some driving scores may trigger assignment oflottery tickets while others might not. Also, in some embodiments, adriving score above a predetermined score level may have to be receivedin order to trigger at least one lottery ticket to be given out. Inother embodiments, a driving score within a predetermined score rangemay have to be received in order to trigger at least one lottery ticketto be given out. For example, if the maximum driving score value is 100,a driver may have to achieve a driving score value that is above orequal to 80 in order to receive at least one lottery ticket. Thus, ifthe driver receives a driving score of 79 or below, he or she may notreceive a lottery ticket.

If the lottery system determines that the driving score information hasnot triggered lottery tickets to be assigned (No at step 405), thelottery system may return to step 404 to continue to receive drivingscore information. On the other hand, if the lottery system determinesthat at least one lottery ticket has been earned based on the drivingscore information (Yes at step 405), the lottery system may perform step406. In step 406, the lottery system may assign at least one lotteryticket to the driver. In an embodiment, the assigned at least onelottery ticket may be stored in a lottery database 220 in theinteractive rewards system 202.

The lottery system may identify component score values and overalldriving score values for the driver based on the driving scoreinformation received at step 404. Based on the identified componentscore values and overall driving score values, the lottery system maydetermine a number of lottery tickets to assign to the driver at step406. In an embodiment, the higher the driving score value, the greaternumber of lottery tickets a driver may receive. For example, 1 lotteryticket may be assigned for driving scores 80-84, 2 lottery tickets maybe assigned for driving scores 85-89, and so forth (e.g., Table 1).

Upon assigning the at least one lottery ticket to the driver, at step407, the lottery system may notify the driver of the assigned lotteryticket. For example, the rewards subsystem 203 may transmit anotification indicating that a driver has earned or received fivelottery tickets. In some embodiments, the notification may also includea reason that the lottery tickets are being given. For example, thenotification may indicate that a driver has won five lottery tickets forreceiving a top daily driving score for five days in a row. In anotherembodiment, the notification may indicate potential prizes that thedriver may be able to win, when the drawing for the lottery will beheld, how many more chances the driver may have to win (e.g., 3 moredays/drives left), what bonus tickets the driver may get by achievingone or more additional goals, etc.

The type of notification sent at step 407 may depend on userpreferences, such as those preferences set in step 402. The lotterysystem may be configured to transmit the notifications as an email(e.g., to an email address designated by the driver), a text message(e.g. to a phone number designated by the driver), a push notification(e.g., to an application running on the driver's phone), or a voicemessage (e.g., an automatic phone call to a phone number designated bythe user). In some embodiments, the notifications may be sent soon(e.g., approximately immediately) after determining that driving scoreinformation has triggered at least one lottery ticket to be assigned.

After lottery tickets have been assigned to a plurality of drivers, atstep 408, the lottery system may select a winner in a lottery drawingfor a reward. For example, programs or modules within the rewardssubsystem 203 (e.g., a lottery tickets module) may be configured torandomly select a winning lottery in a drawing for a reward (e.g.,wherein the winning lottery ticket is assigned using randomprobability). A lottery tickets module within the rewards subsystem 203may apply various algorithms to randomly select the winner.

At step 409, the lottery system may send a winner notification to notifya driver that he or she has won the drawing for the reward. The winnernotification may be a message indicating that the winning lottery tickethas been selected for the driver to win the prize in the lotterydrawing. The winner notification may comprise details about the winninglottery ticket selected in the drawing, information about the prize won,as well as details on how the driver may redeem his or her prize.

In an embodiment, the driver may be notified of winning lottery ticketsby receiving the winner notification at one or more of the followingdevices: computing device 205, mobile device 210, vehicle computingdevice 208, customer computing device 212, and television 214. Forexample, the driver may receive a winner notification through therewards manager 216 on the computing device 216. The prize notificationmay be presented on the display 217 and may comprise a message or anindication (e.g., text, images, video, animation, etc.) informing thedriver of his winning lottery ticket and the prize that the driver haswon. In another embodiment, the driver may receive the winnernotification through a web portal provided by a server or system withinthe rewards subsystem 203. For example, a driver may receive the winnernotification by using a web browser to navigate to a particular website(e.g., insurance company website, social media website, etc.) on acustomer computing device 212. In yet another embodiment, the driver mayreceive a winner notification by watching a program or commercial shownon a television 214. For example, when a driver is provided a lotteryticket, the driver may also be told of a time period, televisionchannel, and/or television program that they should watch to see if theywon the lottery. The winner of the lottery may be announced, forexample, during a television program or immediately following atelevision program. For example, the winner could be announced duringhalf-time of a Super Bowl or other sporting event. In other embodiments,the driver may be notified of a winning lottery ticket by email, textmessages (e.g., SMS, MMS, etc.), push notifications, and phone calls onhis or her mobile device (e.g., mobile device 210). Alternatively, thelottery system (e.g., rewards manager) may also “search” among adriver's lottery tickets to determine if the winning lottery number(e.g., corresponding to a winning lottery ticket) is found, wherein thesearch may be performed by comparing text, images, videos, animations,etc. If a winning lottery ticket is found, the driver may be notified.

After sending a winning lottery ticket notification, the lottery systemmay determine if a reward has been redeemed at step 410. In someembodiments, the reward for the winning lottery ticket may be redeemedautomatically, wherein the driver might not be obliged to proactivelyclaim the prize. Otherwise, step 410 may include determining whether ornot a driver has redeemed his or her winning lottery ticket to redeemhis or her prize within a predetermined period of time. In someembodiments, a driver may redeem a reward by accessing the rewardssubsystem 203 through a web portal on the computing device 205, mobiledevice 210, vehicle computing device 208 or customer computing device212 within the predetermined period of time. For example, the driver maylog online to confirm that he or she has the winning lottery ticket andto claim the prize within the predetermined period of time (e.g., a day,a week, a month, etc.). After the driver claims the prize, the rewardssubsystem 203 may subsequently receive a message indicating that thedriver has redeemed the lottery ticket to claim the prize.

If the lottery system determines that the reward has not been redeemedby the driver with the winning lottery ticket (No at step 410), thelottery system may return to step 408 to select a new winner. In anembodiment, the lottery system may randomly select a new lottery ticketin the drawing if the reward is not redeemed by the original winner. Thedriver associated with the new lottery ticket may claim the prize byconfirming his or her winning lottery ticket. In an embodiment, thevalue of the prize may increase or be added to the next drawing's prizevalue if not redeemed by the winning driver within the predeterminedperiod of time. For example, the value of the unclaimed prize, such as a$100 discount on insurance premiums, may be added to the next drawing'sprize of a $100 discount on insurance premiums, resulting in a new prizeof $200 discount on insurance premiums.

If the lottery system determines that the reward has been redeemed bythe driver (Yes at step 410), the lottery system may perform step 411.In step 411, the lottery system may send a confirmation to the driver.The confirmation may be a message that informs the driver that the prizehas been redeemed and may include further details about the prize. Thatis, if the prize is an insurance discount, the confirmation may be sentto the driver along with a coupon or a check for the insurance discountwhich can be used in the future. If the prize is travel tickets, avoucher for free air travel or a number to call to book a predeterminedflight may be sent to the driver, along with the confirmation.

FIG. 5 illustrates another flow diagram of an example method inaccordance with additional aspects of the present disclosure. Morespecifically, FIG. 5 illustrates example method steps for assigning atleast one playing card in a poker game based on driving scoreinformation. The steps of FIG. 5 may be performed by computing devicesof the rewards subsystem 203. One or more of the steps of FIG. 5 may beperformed by executing a rewards program and/or operating a particularlyconfigured computing device of a gaming system within the interactiverewards system 202. As a result of the method of FIG. 5, a driver atcomputing device 205 may be assigned at least one playing card andsubsequently notified.

The method of FIG. 5 may begin with step 501 of configuring a card game,such as a poker game. Configuration may include signing-up for therewards service and initializing games. A driver or customer (e.g., aninsurance policy holder) may use a computing device 205, vehiclecomputing device 208, mobile device 210, or customer computing device212 to sign-up to participate in games offered by the gaming system, inwhich drivers may receive lottery tickets and/or rewards by winninggames.

Signing-up at step 501 may include providing a username, password,policy number, etc.

to the rewards subsystem 203 and/or indicating a driver's acceptance oragreement to terms and conditions. In some embodiments, signing-up mayalso include providing driver information (e.g., name, birthdate,address, gender, etc.) and/or mobile device 210 information (e.g.,smartphone identifier, smartphone make and model, phone number, etc.).Further, in step 501, upon signing-up, the rewards subsystem 203 maycreate and/or assign an account to the driver. In an embodiment, therewards subsystem 203 may store account information in the plurality ofdatabases 220. In another embodiment, the driver may have alreadysigned-up for the rewards service and/or games by using a web browser tonavigate to a particular website (e.g., insurance company website) tosign-up. After signing-up, the driver may sign-on a website orapplication on his or her phone and initialize a card game, such as apoker game. For example, the rewards subsystem 203 may provide a userinterface presented on a display (e.g., display 217 of the computingdevice 205) by an application (e.g., rewards manager 216). The provideduser interface (e.g., user interface 300) may allow a driver to play acard game and/or other video games with peer drivers or friends.Additionally, the rewards subsystem 203 may access a playing cardsdatabase and a games database in a plurality of databases 220 in orderto retrieve information for configuring and setting up the game in step501.

At step 502, the gaming system within the interactive rewards system 202may receive driving score information. Driving score information may becollected from the computing device 210, vehicle computing device 207 ormobile device 210. The driving score information may comprise overalldriving scores for a driver that are calculated from component scoresfor each of a plurality of driving factors associated with the driver.The plurality of driving factors may comprise speed, braking, steering,turn signals, miles driven, amount of time driven at night, amount oftime driven during daytime, etc. In an embodiment, the driving scoreinformation may be stored in a database 220 within the rewards subsystem203.

After receiving the driving score information, at step 503, the gamingsystem may determine if the driving score information triggersassignment of a playing card. In other words, step 503 may includedetermining whether or not a driver has earned at least one playing cardbased on his or her driving scores. In some embodiments, some drivingscores may trigger assignment of playing cards while others might note.Also, in some embodiments, a driving score above a predetermined scorelevel may have to be received in order to trigger at least one playingcard to be given out. In other embodiments, a driving score within apredetermined score range may have to be received in order to trigger atleast one playing card to be given out. For example, if the maximumdriving score value is 100, a driver may have to achieve a driving scorevalue that is above or equal to 80 in order to receive at least oneplaying card. Thus, if the driver receives a driving score of 79 orbelow, he or she might not receive a playing card.

If the gaming system determines that the driving score information hasnot triggered at least one playing card to be assigned (No at step 503),the gaming system may return to step 502 to continue to receive drivingscore information. On the other hand, if the gaming system determinesthat at least one playing card has been earned based on the drivingscore information (Yes at step 503), the gaming system may perform step504. In step 504, the gaming system may determine a card value for theat least one playing card.

Card values may be determined based on identified component score valuesand overall driving score values. In some embodiments, driving scorevalues and component score values may be grouped into four predeterminedscore ranges to correspond to four different card values. For example,100 may be the maximum driving score value, and the four predeterminedscore ranges, in order of weakest to strongest card values, may be80-84, 85-89, 90-94, and 95-100. Thus, a card value may be determinedbased on the predetermined score ranges.

In some embodiments, step 504 may include randomly selecting a cardvalue from among a set of possible card values. In an embodiment where atraditional poker game is being played, a card value may be randomlyselected. For example, step 504 may include randomly selecting a cardvalue from among the set of values including Ace, King, Queen, Jack,ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, and/or Joker.Depending on the type of card game being played the card values may bedifferent. For example, if the card game “UNO” is being played, the cardvalue may be a number from zero to nine, “skip,” “draw two,” “wild,”etc.

At step 505, the gaming system may determine a card suit for the atleast one playing card. Card suits may be determined based on specificdriving factors. For example, card suits may include the following, inorder of strongest to weakest card suits: overall driving score, brakingscore, turn signals score, night-time driving score, daytime drivingscore, and other component scores. The overall driving score may be aweighted average of each of the component scores and may be thestrongest card suit.

In some embodiments, step 505 may include randomly selecting a card suitfrom among a set of possible card suits, or determining a card suit fromtheir driving scores. In an embodiment where a traditional poker game isbeing played, a card suit may be randomly selected. For example, step505 may include randomly selecting a card suit from among the set ofsuits including hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades. Depending on thetype of card game being played the card suits may also be different. Forexample, if the card game “UNO” is being played, the card suit may be acolor from the set of colors including red, green, blue, and yellow.

At step 506, the gaming system may assign the at least one playing cardwith the determined card value and card suit to the driver. In anembodiment, the rewards subsystem 203 may store the assigned at leastone playing card in a playing cards database 220 in the interactiverewards system 202. At step 507, the gaming system may send anotification of the assigned at least one playing card to the driver.For example, the rewards subsystem 203 may transmit a notificationindicating that a driver has earned or received five playing cards. Inan embodiment, the notification may comprise the card suits and cardvalues of each of the playing cards assigned to the driver. In anotherembodiment, the notification may result in the assigned at least oneplaying cards being added to a driver's hand of playing cards in thepoker game. The notification may also show what other cards the drivercurrently has, what hands the driver may make with the current cards,and what other cards the driver may need to make an even better hand(e.g., while motivating the driver to reach a certain driving goal). Thedriver may receive the notification in the user interface (e.g., userinterface 300) of the poker game, wherein the playing cards received bythe driver may be shown pictorially in the user interface 300 with anillustration or animation representing the assigned playing cards.Moreover, indications (e.g., text, images, videos, animations, etc.) maybe shown on the user interface 300 to inform the driver of acquiredplaying cards.

Aspects of the invention have been described in terms of illustrativeembodiments thereof. Numerous other embodiments, modifications, andvariations within the scope and spirit of the appended claims will occurto persons of ordinary skill in the art from a review of thisdisclosure. For example, one of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate that the steps illustrated in the illustrative figures may beperformed in other than the recited order, and that one or more stepsillustrated may be optional in accordance with aspects of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, by a firstcomputing device and from a plurality of mobile computing devices in afirst group of mobile computing devices, driving score information for aplurality of drivers in a first group of drivers associated with thefirst group of mobile computing devices, wherein the driving scoreinformation for each driver is calculated using driving data associatedwith the driver and collected from one or more sensors of the mobilecomputing device associated with the driver; determining, based on thereceived driving score information, a combined driving score for thefirst group of drivers; assigning, to the first group of drivers andbased on determining that the combined driving score information for thefirst group of drivers is greater than combined driving scoreinformation for a second group of drivers, at least one group reward,wherein the second group of drivers comprises at least one differentdriver from the first group of drivers; and sending, to each of thefirst group of mobile computing devices, a notification indicating thatthe at least one group reward has been assigned to the first group ofdrivers.